If skies are clear, you can catch what astronomers are predicting will be the best meteor shower of the year Sunday evening into Monday morning.

The annual Geminids meteor shower is billed as the best because it produces more meteors per hour than other showers. The show starts about 9 or 10 p.m. and continues overnight. This year a crescent moon Sunday will set early, making it easier to spot the meteors.

“The shower is showy in the sense that the meteors you get to see are usually very dramatic,” said Adam Block, who manages the University of Arizona’s Mount Lemmon SkyCenter.

Geminid meteors are bright and fast (79,000 mph), and the shower is famous for producing fireballs, which are meteors brighter than magnitude -4, the same magnitude as the planet Venus.

You should also be able to see meteors Saturday night, although Sunday evening into Monday morning will be your best chance to see the most meteors.

However, northcentral Montanans are probably out of luck, said Paul Nutter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls.

“By Sunday night, this area will have overcast skies and a winter storm,” Nutter said.

The storm will begin in western and southwestern Montana Sunday and move to the Great Falls area by Sunday night. At least two inches of snow, and up to four inches, is forecast.

“The storm will impact travel Sunday evening in the southwest part of the state, West Yellowstone, Dillon and Monida Pass,” Nutter said.

The origins of the Geminids are not well understood. Most meteor showers come from icy comets, but these appear to spring from an odd, rocky object named Phaeton, after the son of the Greek sun god Helios.